In ancient Greek mythology, Ambrosia is sometimes the food, sometimes the drink, of the gods, often depicted as conferring ageless immortality upon whoever consumes it. It was brought to the gods in Olympus by doves, so may have been thought of in the Homeric tradition as a kind of divine exhalation of the Earth.
Those Greek gods might have been onto a good thing, and around our house Ambrosia Salad is high on the list of summertime dinner requests, easily eclipsing Barbecue Pizza and a fresh T-Bone (Blue Rare for me please!).
Ambrosia Salad is rather easy to prepare, something even your young children can help with, making it a yummy family experience from beginning to (quick) end.
Ingredients:
- 1 – package Cherry Jello
- 1 – package Lime Jello
- 1 – package Lemon Jello
- 1 – package Graham Crackers
- 1 – litre Plain Yogurt
- 1 – litre Whipped Cream (fresh or the edible oil product type work equally well)
- 1 – 18 oz. tin of Fruit Cocktail
- 1 – 12 oz. tin of Mandarin Slices
- 1 – cup Shredded Coconut
- 1 – Bag Miniature Marshmallows
Prepare the 3 packages of Jello as per instructions and pour into 3 flat pans. Chill.
In a LARGE flat pan place the Graham Crackers so that they cover the bottom and sides of the pan (aka The Crust).
Now you will need a LARGE bowl, large enough to hold all the remaining ingredients. Once the Jello has set cut it into 1/2 inch cubes in the individual pans and scrape into the large bowl trying not to break up the cubes. Add the Yogurt and Whipped Cream on top (but don’t mix in yet!). Drain the Fruit Cocktail and Mandarin Slices and give the kids the juice to share for all their hard work to this point (aka Bribery). Add the fruit on top of the Whipped Cream. Toss the Shredded Coconut and Marshmallows on top of everything. NOW you can mix everything together GENTLY. It will take a bit of mixing and folding since the Whipped Cream tends to want to stick to itself and not mix in.
Once everything is mixed together nicely grab your trusty spatula and slide your ‘filling’ into the Graham Cracker crust, smoothing it out just enough to keep the filling from escaping over the sides of the pan.
Chill the Ambrosia Salad until dinnertime and be prepared for plenty of Ooohs and Ahhhs, not to mention requests for your ‘Secret’ recipe. Ambrosia Salad can be served as you would pie, with perhaps a sprig of mint on top if you are feeling a bit extravagant. Any leftovers (cha-right will there EVER be leftovers?) can be pressed back into the 1 Litre Yogurt container and frozen for a uber-yummy ice cream!